LOUISVILLE — Certain figures stand out in smaller communities.
In Louisville, that figure is Mike Frost.
“If you could think of one guy that really encompasses Louisville, it’s Mike Frost,” North Clay resident and Lady Cardinals head girls’ basketball coach Josh Zink said. “He goes above and beyond for everybody.”
Frost has been around the community since the 80s.
He graduated from Flora in 1978.
“I’ve made a lot of relationships with the coaches and the people that have come to our town,” Frost said. “We’ve been blessed with great young people and coaches.”
Frost is what you would call a North Clay “super fan.”
There isn’t one basketball or baseball game he’s not attending.
“I can’t seem to stay out of a gym or a field,” he said. “I enjoy it. I feel like it’s good, cheap entertainment.”
Frost’s children, Nikki (Frost) Brentlinger and Curt Forst, went through North Clay from 1997 to 2000. He’s been married to his wife, Deb, for 48 years. The two will celebrate their anniversary in August.
What brought Mike Frost to Louisville from Flora was the local grocery store, Mike’s Food Market, that he took over in 1982 and ran for the following 38 years.
His love for high school sports was with him then. It’s even stronger now.
Zink said that the 66-year-old is an “integral part” of the community.
“As long as I can remember, Mike Frost has been an integral part of this community, but also a part of our sports programs. Long before I was in high school, Mike was at every high school basketball and baseball game,” Zink said. “He was always volunteering for different things in the community.
“Everybody knows him. He’s just a great human being.”
Mike Frost said that when he ran the store and the booster club came to him for a donation request, there was no hesitation to give one.
He wanted the best for the athletes and that’s still true today.
Mike Frost has a reserved seat at Clay County State Bank Arena right at halfcourt.
He said the athletes enjoy seeing him.
“You can tell that they’re glad you’re here,” Mike Frost said. “You don’t have to know them personally to encourage them.
“There’s always one kid who doesn’t have anyone to cheer for them and if you pick that kid up, it can lift them.”
Mike Frost isn’t one to sit around.
He’s always on the go.
A game could be on the road, in town, or out of state and he’d be there.
Mike Frost said that he has a granddaughter who lives in Windemere, Fla., and is active in lacrosse and volleyball.
Brentlinger’s son, Gentry, is also active in athletics at Freeburg High School.
Outside of attending North Clay sporting events, he also attends their events.
And though the miles on his truck keep increasing, Mike Frost wouldn’t want to make any other choice.
“It’s hard for me to stay home,” he said.
That active lifestyle was the same when he was in high school, too.
Mike Frost was a three-sport athlete at Flora. He played football, basketball and baseball and even dabbled in cross country.
“When I was in school, you had to play the other sports to continue to play the [one you wanted],” Mike Frost said.
There was one point in time when Mike Frost thought there was no way you could learn how to work hard from playing sports.
That tone has since changed. The blue-collar community of Louisville knows how to teach one thing — hard work.
“I’ve changed my mind and think that sports teach that,” Mike Frost said. “It teaches responsibility and they reap the rewards [from it].
“A lot of kids here can play baseball, but they can also work on your tractor.”